Top 10 Video Games with Wasted Potential
Have you ever played one of those video games where you like the ideas... but you can't really stand anything else about the video games? Or, you really do want to like this game because it just seems to fascinating. But you can't because the execution is wonky or something. In recent years, I've come across a lot of these types of games, especially in the light of things like steam early access where people can put things up and then forget about what they're doing for the follow-through. I'm not saying that each of these things needs a sequel, although most of these games are prime candidates for such - but they each need a... Shovel Knight if you will. A spiritual successor that capitalizes and remixes a beloved mechanic from the past. Speaking of sequels though, I'm specifically going out of my way to avoid games in franchises. Angel of Darkness may be a terrible Tomb Raider game, for instance, and even though it has a pretty good story, there have been and continue to be other Tomb Raider games using that potential. And something like Silent Hill had already used a great deal of its potential before it got to Homecoming. I'm going to rank these by... how much that I desperately want to see someone do this right. 10. Fantasy Life (3DS) I'm putting this one at number ten because it feels like this is a "me" thing. That I was expecting something other than what the video game was offering. When I heard of the concept and the title, I thought that this was going to be Animal Crossing in a fantasy world; basically an open world sandbox villager simulator in fantasy medieval times. Fantasy Life is a little bit more... traditional in that regard; and you have to choose one life, one particular mechanic, whereas a better mechanic seems like letting the player choose what they want to do as they go along - if they want to fight monsters one day, and tailor clothes the next, without losing progress in either - let them. It's hard not to feel like you're missing something while playing this game. I honestly think that this game has too much focus on a story, in a game that doesn't put too much focus on the story. Maybe I'm the only one who thinks this, I dunno. But I really would like to see the Animal Crossing-type game in other environments, done better than how the Sims did it at least. 9. Doodle God (iPhone) Doodle God isn't a game; it's a mechanic. In the game you take two elemental cards (like "fire" and "water") and you fuse them (making the card "steam"). And you can use that card to fuse with the previous cards. Do you know what would really be nice for this game? Maybe seeing a world in the background being slowly created with the elements that we're created. That sounds satisfying. Otherwise, the only satisfactions you tend to get in this game is when you've finally created a new card after slamming all 100 of your previous ones together in every order in the process of elimination. If a game was build with this mechanic, instead of on this mechanic, I think that it would actually be quite interesting. 8. Spore (PC) 'Spore is probably the game that most people think about when they think games with wasted potential. Besides the ''Fable ''series, this game is the most infamous over-hyped processes. ''Spore is really five different games - a worse version of Osmo; walking around; a worse version of Age of Empires; a worse version of Rise of Nations; and a worse version of Starbound. I'm not going to go into too much detail here, as it's been gone on and on about. If the game focused on making... well, one game... it might be something special. There's something super satisfying about evolving a creature to the point where you can send them out into the cosmos. In theory. This game is the clearest example of too many ideas, and not focusing on any one of them. Keep in mind, on this list, I want these games to be "fixed"; to be successful; to really utilize their true potential. '''7. Killing Time at Light Speed (PC) '''This is one of the most recent video games on the list, so there's possibility of update. However, I am including the Enhanced Edition too because I don't think that it fixes the main problem with the game. The concept is very strong - you're space travelling to another planet. However, that spaceship has Facebook so you can keep up with your old contacts and see what they're doing. The catch is that every time you refresh the page, one entire year has passed for them. It's a brilliant idea that can really show you how time can change a life for better or worse, and how people grow and develop. And the game almost entirely forgets the human element. Most of the Facebook posts are about the politics of the world and the debates over futuristic development. No one ever comments over lost love, their kids, problems that they might be going through, etc. While yes, people do talk about politics a lot on social media; it's not the only thing that they talk about, and choosing that route. It doesn't harm this game for me; it's one of the decisions that well... kills the game for me. I could imagine, someone posting that they're having a shitty day. And of course, you want to help them, but it's been a year since they posted that, and when you reply to them, they don't even remember what the hell they were thinking at the time. Or it's proven to be the first in a long line of dominoes that changed who that person was from the person you remembered them as. '''6. Amazing Island (Gamecube) Amazing Island bills itself as "Mario Party meets Pokemon." It's not that thing at all; and not even what it's really going for. In the game you play... well mediocre party games in order to unlock accessories or body parts for a creature creator. This creature creator is one of the best that I have ever come across. It really does blow Spore's out of the water. The problem? Well, the rest of the game. In order to unlock everything you need to play the minigames, which is fair. But they're not very good. Literally the first one you deal with has nothing but button mashing. They get very easy, very routine rather quickly. They do give you money. Which is good because some of the accessories that you need to complete the creature creator cost well over 100,000 gold (you win about 2,000 gold for each minigame; if you're really good and really lucky). And also, this game has some nice GBA link cable bullshit if you want everything. So, what's the problem? The accessories aren't cosmetic. For example, a horse's voice will make the monster faster; and a robot's voice will make the monster slower. There really is only one way to make the fastest possible monster, creativity be damned. And yeah, I'm sure that there's balancing between the other stats. But most multiplayer games seemed to come down to whoever had unlocked the most shit. In Pokemon, while the creatures have different stats, they've been previously balanced by the developer, which cannot be done here. This mix-and-match doesn't work. Which is sad because the creature creator is really cool and I'd spend hours on the thing when I was a kid. I really wish that the mechanic was used in a different kind of game; a little bit more single-player focused, and better than Spore. Also, going back, this game feels really small. And keep in mind that this game was on a console that had the original Luigi's Mansion. 5. Alter Ego (1986) (DOS) 'I've repeatedly said that I liked this game, I do like this game. But that's mostly because of its premise. The mechanics... well, it's a choose your own adventure game that occasionally tells you that you don't have the stats to make that choice. ''Alter Ego is a game about life... your life and the choices that you make. You start as an infant, and you go through all stages of life, unless you die for one reason or another. And it isn't afraid to throw adult moments at you - back when that wasn't exactly a common thing. Could you imagine what this kind of game would be like with modern technology? The biggest problem with Alter Ego is that it was made far too early and a text-adventure (loosely using that word) is the only way that it could have gotten its concept through. Nowadays with the kind of graphics and mechanics we're capable of harnessing, it would be... interesting to see something like this fully realized, with some of the kinks worked out (in the game, getting married and having kids doesn't seem to affect much, for instance.) '''4. Interactive Movie Games (Various) There's really only one thing I can say - if you want to make a video game, make the player's choices fucking important. If you don't want to make the player's choices important, then tell your story in another fucking medium; you've picked the wrong one. I'm tired of these games basically going "No! You have to pick this one choice to get the right ending so we can connect it to a sequel." Choice is the essence of video games, and by cutting out a player's choice, you're only arguing that this was a bad idea to begin with. Another thing; if all of your game has is a story, you'd better make goddamn sure that your story is ten cuts higher than what's expected out of most video games. Yes, I'm looking at you Quantic Dreams. Indigo Prophecy goes into some weird cult bullshit in the last half of the game, and the main character jumps off of a roller coaster for no reason, but it's okay because he's alive and he has sex with the police officer trying to catch him in temperatures that should kill anyone instantly. Everyone thinks that Ethan is the Origami Killer in Heavy Rain, despite the fact that he was in a coma during some of the killings. I guess it's because the tunnel that Scott Shelby littered glass into was too small for Scott Shelby to fit into. And Beyond Two Souls has nonlinear storytelling because you can take any story and mix up the chapters and it'll read just fine. Here's a tip - if your story would get laughed out of mindless action Hollywood summer blockbusters, I'm going to assume that it did and video games was your backup plan because you believe that people are more forgiving of a stupid story. An interactive movie video game can have a lot of power if it's done right; if the player's choices actually matter. I don't think that I've played one where they don't though. Almost every one sacrifices the player's choice to tell the narrative that they want to tell. There can be "good" endings and "bad" endings, but all too often it seems that they're so detached from any other player experience because the games assume that it's a binary choice of the player deciding to go along with the story, or going against the story. And then there are walking simulators. Look, I don't think that the concept is bad. And The Beginner's Guide and Stanley Parable are some of my favorite games of all time. But walking on its own is not engaging. Looking at pretty stuff may be engaging, but like the movies up above, you've picked the wrong medium. If you want to make something that's just meant to look good, make a painting. 3. Facade (PC) So... Facade is technically an interactive movie game, but it claims not to be. BrutalMoose can explain that one: link. For "interactive" fiction, the game just expects you to stand there and watch a play unfold. However, the idea of Facade is something I want to talk about. The idea is that you come over to a couple fighting, and you're supposed to type something in and the people inside react accordingly. They don't react accordingly, but that's the idea. And it actually puts you in an interesting place where the voice actor for Trip actually says the name you put in because they've recorded like a thousand of them. Everything from John to... Garbanzo. The point? I think that, if done right, this may actually be the key to helping people cure social anxiety. I'm not kidding. Because back when I was really, really socially anxious, this game kinda... got me with its illusion. I'm betting that if you someone designed a game like this with the raw intention of treating social anxiety - it would work. Have the player go to a party, and help them talk; let them ease their way in and get more comfortable talking, or typing as the case may be. Although you'd probably need voice recognition for this to work as properly as possible. And definitely better graphics than are available in Facade. And some VR support probably wouldn't hurt. 2. Survival Games (various) 'I've ranted on the plight of survival games before. It's a genre with a plethora of potential that has really killed itself by basically continually cannibalizing Minecraft, DayZ, and Unturned. The best one that I've played is probably Project Zomboid, but even that tends to become boring and routine after awhile. Once you get a handle on these game's mechanics, the game generally allows you to create a way to survive indefinitely. If there's a way to stay safe for a long period of time, the game becomes boring. This is a big problem with Dying Light. Yay, safe tower; I don't have to worry and I can stay here as long as I like! Unturned is pretty good too, but I had a lot more fun with it ignoring the zombies and basically playing death match on the island with my friends. I think that one of the issues with these games is how... well, alone that you frequently end up being. NPC's - non-zombie NPC's - some reason to keep fighting are probably a key component is missing. This is why I played Dead State for as long as I did. You had actual other survivors to deal with and interact with. Sure, the school house was usually safe, but the other survivors could have been dangerous; everyone still needed to eat; you had to go out into the world, further and further. The biggest problem with the game is that it's too easy. First of all, it's a survival game that has quick-saving. This would be like putting quick-saving into a game of Spelunky. Sure, you can turn off quick-saving, but there's another thing that makes the game too easy - the cripple ability. being "crippled" means that to do any move, a player or NPC or zombie must use double their action points. When not crippled, zombies do two attacks. When they are crippled they do... nothing. They don't even move. They just stand there forever. Blocking other zombies from getting to you. And hey, the game starts you out with two weapons that have crippling abilities. Sure, you could play the game and give scout's honor to never cripple a zombie, but it's something that could probably be fixed five minutes in a patch; It's always there, and always obvious. Most new players will figure this out before long, and might even think that it's intentional. Most combat becomes a joke after this. And the temptation is always there because ''most melee weapons have a crippling ability. Yes, there are human enemies, and that does make combat a bit more interesting, but with quick saves, it becomes a lot more like a puzzle than a survival game. Also, you could probably avoid other survivors and live off of the stuff you got from around the zombies. Also, the game kind of... almost abruptly ends at Day 100. You're randomly one day told that a nuclear power plant is going to explode and if you don't leave, you'll die. You can leave or you can die, and that's how the game ends. Sheltered is another game that fits particularly well in this category. You have a nuclear family... pun intended... that you need to keep safe in a shelter. The problem? Your party members have no individualized personalities. They have... a trait, but that's it. It's just one trait that separates kids from adults in this game, and I guess... stats. But none of the party members say anything interesting, and it's really hard to give a damn about any of them. And it just goes on and on and on. I could rant about survival games all day long, but considering that 90% of them are 90% unfinished, I think it's apt to leave it here. Hey, maybe that's why people keep buying these things? They think that the latest one has finally fulfilled the unfulfilled promises of the first one. '''Number 1: Impossible Creatures (PC) You ever play a video game for hours and hours doing your best job to enjoy it, and you end up failing. Yeah, that's me and Impossible Creatures. I gave the game a good 14 hours, and yes, that came with both Insect Armageddon and the Tellurian mod. Impossible Creatures is a great idea. You take two animals and you fuse them to create warriors for your army. This is a great idea. Just... not the best executed. Also, the game isn't a very good real-time strategy game. Many of the combinations, and even some of the animals presented, are objectively useless. Some of the combinations I understand, but... why animals that are objectively worse in every single way whatsoever? You can only have 9 different kinds of troops in your army. For reference, Age of Empires II has 17 different families of units. While this would be understandable if the dev team didn't have any time, the player is the one creating the troops. It would have been nice to at least have the option to have more troops. I know it's possible. One of the campaign bosses has ten different kinds of creatures available. You've got... a lot of things to keep track of. You need at least one creature of all five levels; a ranged creature; a water creature; an artillery creature; a loner creature; a creature that digs; a creature that can see camouflage. While it may seem that it's building up strategy, honestly, it's only really kind of limiting you to a few select choices. Some abilities, like camouflage are actually pretty useless because every army is limited to having a creature that can see camouflage. Also, it's really hard to see your own creatures when they're camouflaged. This game also really needs a slider to determine how often your henchmen talk to you. You will be hearing "the critters are under attack" on loop. It's a game that really does need a sequel to do the concept justice. I could imagine myself being really hooked on this kind of thing if I picked it up when it came out, but now... Category:Top Tens